David Cameron aims to protect civil service independence after fiasco of WMD dossier

A Tory government would overhaul Whitehall to ensure that the fiasco of Iraq weapons dossier never happened again.

The Conservatives are set this week to unveil fresh plans to protect the independence of intelligence officials and other civil servants from political pressure to "sex up" their advice.

David Cameron has given the go-ahead to the reforms, which will fully implement the recommendations of the Butler Inquiry.

Former intelligence experts have criticised both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown for failing to act swiftly on Lord Butler's call for a transparent overhaul of the way secret information is used by politicians.

The stress on accountability and civil service independence is part of the Conservatives' wider drive to put distance between political advisers and non-political information.

Mr Cameron, who voted in Parliament for the war, said yesterday that toppling Saddam had still been the right course of action because there were other reasons than WMD to remove him.

But the Tory leader also said: "Had I been in Tony Blair's shoes I hope I would have taken some quite different steps in being truthful." He said that "never again" should Whitehall be used to exaggerate intelligence evidence.

Former Cabinet secretaries are advising the Tories on how to restore confidence in the civil service, with Lord Turnbull only this week backing Mr Cameron's approach.

As well as independent checks on the Treasury, there will be moves to protect statisticians being used for political ends.